Dennis Prager
Radio Host and PragerU Founder
Dennis Prager is a conservative radio host, author, and the co-founder of PragerU, a digital media organization that produces short-form videos on political, historical, and social topics. PragerU is not an accredited university and does not grant degrees; the "University" name is a branding choice. The organization has built a large audience on YouTube and social media, with videos typically running five minutes or less and covering topics from American history to economics to social issues from an explicitly conservative perspective.
PragerU has produced content that contradicts the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. The organization has received funding from fossil fuel interests including the Wilks brothers, who made their fortune in fracking. Media organizations and climate scientists have documented specific claims in PragerU videos that they say misrepresent the state of climate science. PragerU and its supporters argue that its content presents legitimate perspectives on climate policy that mainstream media systematically ignores, and distinguish between the scientific question of whether warming is occurring and the policy question of what responses are appropriate.
In 2023, Florida approved PragerU content as a supplemental educational resource for use in public schools, a development that drew widespread criticism from educators, academic freedom advocates, and scientists who argued the material contained factual inaccuracies and ideological bias inappropriate for classroom use. Supporters of the decision argued that it provided a conservative counterweight to what they described as liberal bias in educational materials. PragerU has also developed a children's content line, PragerU Kids, targeting younger audiences.
The core debate around PragerU is whether presenting conservative political perspectives through an educational-seeming format constitutes political education or propaganda, and whether the "University" branding misleads audiences about the nature of the content.